CHAPTER 45 #2
Her eyes widen, and she snaps her gaze towards the Queen. “She used her curse against another Royal. You should take her head for disobeying the word of the throne!”
“I should take yours for even threatening her life.” Koen’s voice drops to a violent growl and he leans towards her, gripping the reins tightly in his hands before he hops back up on his ice horse. “I’d watch your tongue.”
Her thin brows lift upward in pure rage. “Do I need to end her life myself then?”
He leans closer, inches away from her face. “You wouldn’t dare. Not in front of the Royals.”
Her lip curls upward in a snarl, glancing between Koen’s death glare and mine.
She lets out a loud scuff, shifting on her heels as she walks towards Skie who still helps Florian to his feet.
I’m going to make them pay for hurting him. I vow this to the Gods.
Three Lasyiuses soar from the sky, the golden light trickling between their wings as the wind tosses leaves and sticks in the air.
“We must head to the Darklands, it’s time for the final game.” The Queen gracefully walks over to her horse, grabbing the Light Stone from the golden satchel that wraps around the horse's body.
She begins to walk in the middle, holding the stone against her chest as it pulses with life. The golden hues highlight the language of the flames along her skin.
“I thought only a Royal could travel through the stone? Unless they have a pendant?” A brow of mine lifts, watching the Queen’s eyes slowly meet mine.
“Look at your suits. All of you have the symbol of the chosen marked against your chest.” She takes a deep breath, lips curling into a smirk that makes the insides of my stomach roll. “Time to see who shall be our champion this year.”
Within a matter of a heartbeat, a light brighter than a thousand suns beams from the Light Stone. Then, all I see is white.
MY EYES BLUR, HANDS STILL gripping tightly around my Fireninze’s neck. A buzzing sound as if bees are inside my head vibrates through my ears.
All of the chosen are here, as well as the Royals who were at the race. The horses, unphased by the travel, begin to follow naturally behind the Queen. The wings of her horse, white as snow, spread wide before curling back beside its body.
As my horse follows, my shoulders slump over in agony. My body feels weak. Drained. Especially from the memories.
I still don’t have them all, and I need Klayra to get the stones so I can understand everything. Unravel the memories that have been hidden from me. Taken from me.
The sounds of horses' hooves beating against the charred ground beneath us echoes in the silence. I catch sight of crimson-red lava coursing through the dried cracks of the ground, spreading out like veins. A chill runs down my spine as I hold in my breath.
If this is the lava that can kill a Deskyiara, I might be screwed.
If Koen uses his gift against me, I might be screwed.
I suck in a trembling breath, noticing Theon and Kaine galloping up towards me on each side.
Kaine lets go of his golden reins and starts to braid his hair, revealing his long and pointed ears. “You ready for this, Ren?”
My head tilts to the side before rubbing my lips firmly together in rage. “The Queen isn’t letting me fight.”
Theon lets out a frustrated sigh. “Of course she wouldn’t. I think she fears you would win, and there will be no Realm to gift the Light Stone to.”
My hands brush over my face. “I could still fight!”
Naturally my chin lifts, eyes searching for the sun, yet it's nowhere to be found.
Darkness has completely enveloped this Realm. The only light radiates from the fire that scorches the land underneath.
“I can sense the dark magic.” I drop my voice to a whisper, feeling the hair on my body rise. “No wonder this place is forbidden. Evil has touched every life here.”
“Which is why we only come here to fight the darklings.” Kaine’s lip rises in disgust as he sees a neon green bug with horns climbing on a dead tree.
“If we can kill off the darklings and restore the life here, erasing the darkness that kills off every living thing, this Realm could return back to what it was.”
My brows pull inward, staring at him as he finishes his braids. “What do you mean?”
A loud snort comes from a horse behind us and the sounds of its hooves increase by the second. That’s when I notice Koen, prancing besides Kaine.
“You mean before my mother took reign.” His shoulders straighten, never glancing our way. His curls catch perfectly in the slight breeze as he trots along his ice horse.
“I wasn’t going to bring it up.” Kaine clears his throat.
I notice Koen’s veins bulge against his hands as he grips the reins tighter. “It’s okay. She should know. She should understand the destruction my bloodline caused.”
We never talk about his mother or who she was before marrying the King of Ice.
My heart drops, watching the tick in his jaw only increase before he finally catches my lingering gaze.
His emerald eyes are brightened by the lava that creates hues of a blood red around us, reminding me of the times I saw his eyes dark. As if the life inside him was gone for good.
He shouldn’t be here. Not with Tilly being here.
If she decides to make him shift in front of the Royals, he is dead.
“Koen…” I whisper out. “Should you be he—”
He cuts me off with a sudden rageful grunt. “Should I be here? That’s a joke, right?”
My throat tightens. “I just had to ask.”
“I’m fine, Serene. Don’t worry.” He rips away his stare and whips the reins with such force before flying forward to ride next to Florian.
I watch as Florian’s head bobs left and right, his back hunched over as if he might fall off of his horse at any minute.
Damn it. He needs to heal.
“You hit a nerve with Koen,” Theon scuffs, letting out a breathy laugh.
My eyes roll. “Let's get this last game over with. Koen needs to be far away from this place.”
The horses prance in sync up to where the land looks as if it meets the clouds above.
We form a straight line on the top of a hill.
The land stretches wide in front of us, with charred mountain tips sizzling as if fire had just been burnt out.
All the trees in sight are lifeless without leaves, and their wood smokes.
The mountain cliffs are filled with rocks and a pathway along the side that reaches the very tip.
But below us, through the lifeless, rolling hills, is a graveyard.
Bones—everywhere in sight. As if battles are held every single day, yet I know they are not. Or, I’d like to believe this isn’t a forever graveyard.
“Are these the bones from the darklings?” I stutter, knowing I shouldn’t fear a darkling, but the sight before me makes my bones tremble.
Theon’s chest fills with air. “Yes. But also, some of the chosen who never made it out alive.”
My nose scrunches with disgust as I inhale a deep breath. The air is filled with death, and I could easily vomit at this very moment.
The Queen trots in front of us on her horse. “Once the darklings sense we are here, you men charge forward and attack. Kill off as many as you can!”
Our eyes lock, and my glare darkens.
“Serene, dear.” Her lips curl upward. “You shall sit here with the Royals while the chosen fight.”
“I am a damn chosen,” I snarl. I can feel the eyes of everyone around us as they glare at me. But I don’t flinch. I don’t look. I straighten my back and never blink.
“That you are, but you have no Realm. You will obey and stay beside me.” The Queen nods, pulling on her rein to guide her horse over to Dryden. “Please take the Light Stone, and lead the chosen into battle.”
Dryden arches his back, chin rising as he grabs the Light Stone and holds it up into the air. “Let’s kill some darklings!” he shouts, just in time for the mountain cliffs to begin to yell. Rocks tumble off of the cliff and down to the open, charred land. Some of the bones break with impact.
The chosen sprint forward towards the battlefield, their horses brightening the way with the elements—a kaleidoscope of colors ripping apart the darkness.
My fingers dig into my palms as I watch the darklings crawl over the mountain.
The horses weave through them as the men slice the darklings in half.
“Something feels off,” Florian grunts, holding his side. “There are more than last year.”
“Everything is fine.” The Queen lifts her chin high, watching the men fight below us.
My knee bounces as I steadily watch Koen. A darkling lunges, knocking him off of his horse and slamming him into the ground. I rise, lifting my body off of my horse's body as my nostrils flare with rage.
“Sit,” the Queen barks.
Fighting the urge to completely disobey her, I force myself to sit and slam my body back down.
My Fireninze scuffs her hoof against the ground, kicking up the ash and black dirt. Her head bobs, anxious to go down there and fight. I can feel her urge. I can sense it.
Dryden is thrown off of his horse, tumbling and rolling along the ground as he repeatedly stabs the darkling in the face.
“Antivianna,” Florian hisses through his groans of pain. “Something is wrong!”
“Silence!” she yells, red flushing up her neck.
My eyes widen as I catch sight of more fire darklings beginning to leap from the mountain top, their claws digging into the ash-filled ground when they land. Their yellow teeth peek through their charred lips as they hiss.
“Is this normal behavior for the darklings!” I shout, leaning against the neck of my horse to focus on Florian. But my heart plummets when I see his eyes filled with fear, his head shaking side to side.
“They are going to die if they don’t leave!” Florian begs the Queen. “Tell them to flee!”
“If they are the rightful chosen, they will survive!” Her hands grip her reins tighter. “If they die, they were meant to die.”
My body shifts backwards and my brows deepen. “You are mad!”